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This page features utilities, updates, enhancements, and tutorials for Microsoft Train Simulator. For other add-ons, including rolling stock, routes, and activities, see our Microsoft Train Simulator Contents Page. Microsoft Train Simulator was released in mid-2001. There were some 'issues', and Microsoft released a patch in April 2002 that (was supposed to) address a variety of issues. When you installed version 1.0, you didn't need to have a CD in the drive to make the game work.

Microsoft Train Simulator (abbreviated to MSTS) is a train simulator for Microsoft Windows, released in May 2001 and developed by UK-based Kuju Entertainment.^[1] It sold one million units worldwide by 2005.

• 1Features
• 4Reception

Features[edit]

The simulation allows players to operate a train on various routes in Europe, Asia, and North America. Players need to stop and start the train, couple wagons, using the computer mouse, keyboard or a hardware addition such as Raildriver to operate the controls. Sound effects are enabled.^[2]

Routes[edit]

The original game featured six routes: (four in 1,435 Gauge and two in 1,067 Gauge)

Included with the game is the Editors & Tools program, which allows the user to build custom routes, create activities for any route, create custom consists, create custom cabviews or edit the default ones.

Locomotives (1.0/1.2)[edit]

The 1.0 base package contains 9 drivable locomotives and multiple units plus 8 AI locomotives/multiple units (AI units cannot be operated by the player without modification).

Online travel agency software. Large amounts of post-release DLC was also distributed, providing routes, locomotives, wagons and sessions.

Wagons (1.0/1.2)[edit]

The 1.0 base package contains 7 Passenger Car Types plus Various BNSF Freight Cars.

Large amounts of post-release DLC was also distributed, providing routes, locomotives, wagons and sessions.

Gameplay issues[edit]

The original version contained many bugs. For example, the 'front coupling bug', where the locomotive's front coupler would not work, the 'white void bug', where the route scenery disappears, leaving a white void, and the 'end-of-the-line bug', where the locomotive, if it crashes through the last buffers on the route, would fall into an empty void. There are also issues with the signalling and AI dispatching.

The game is also notoriously unstable, with unusually high tendencies to hang or crash without reason, and display error messages incorrectly and/or at the wrong times. In many instances, out-of-place error messages, usually for missing files, will cause a crash at the wrong time. MSTS 1.2 addressed some of these issues.^[3]

Updates[edit]

Version 1.2 added new items such as British and American rolling stock, namely the British Rail Class 50, British Rail Mark 1 Coaches, EMD SD40-2 and general US freight cars, along with two new activities each for the SD40-2 and Class 50.^{[when?][citation needed]}

Reception[edit]

Sales[edit]

Train Simulator achieved domestic sales of 191,952 units by the end of 2001, which drew revenues of $8.7 million.^[4] These numbers rose to 330,000 copies ($11.6 million) in the United States alone by August 2006. At the time, this led Edge to rank it as the country's 54th-best-selling computer game released since January 2000.^[5]

Internationally, Train Simulator received a 'Silver' sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),^[6] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.^[7] In the German market, the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) presented it with a 'Gold' certification in early 2003,^[8] for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.^[9]

Train Simulator ultimately sold one million units by 2005,^[10] and is, despite its age, still very popular and has a large, active community.^[11]

Reviews and awards[edit]

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Microsoft Train Simulator for its 2001 ' Computer Simulation Game of the Year' award,^[12] which ultimately went to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002.^[13]

Mods[edit]

The game features mod support as routes, trains, cargoes, scenery, etc. are abundant in the game. The installment of the mods is somewhat tricky since they have to be loaded into set files like Routes for Routes and Trainset for Trains, rollingstock, consists, etc. Over 1,000 mods were created for the game and are mostly hosted on community sites such as trainsim.com, uktrainsim.com and elvastower.com, to name a few.^[14] Additionally, MSTS BIN, a community mod that aimed to add features and fix old MSTS bugs has since been released.^[15]

Cancelled sequel[edit]

On May 7, 2003, Microsoft announced that it would be developing a sequel called Microsoft Train Simulator 2^[16] and it was first demoed to the public at E3 on May 15.^[17] Seemingly its main improvements were the addition of people to the game (e.g. passengers waiting at the stations, people operating the new locomotive roster, etc.), more realistic crashes and other accidents, and turntables. It was being developed by Kuju Entertainment, the original MSTS creators. Despite restructuring efforts at Kuju, the project was however handed over to Microsoft Game Studios on August 18, 2003.^[18]

This project was ultimately halted, as the following statement on April 24, 2004 from Microsoft confirmed:

Microsoft Game Studios has halted the Windows-based game 'Train Simulator 2.0.' The decision to halt 'Train Simulator 2.0' was made some time ago and was based on a long, hard and difficult look at our business objectives and product offerings. We remain focused on the simulations category with successful, platform-driving franchises such as 'Microsoft Flight Simulator.'^[19]

On January 19, 2007, Microsoft announced the relaunch of the Microsoft Train Simulator project. This time the game was being made in-house by Aces Game Studio (Microsoft Game Studios) known for its long line of Microsoft Flight Simulators, as a part of the 'Games for Windows' initiative. The game would have used the Microsoft Flight Simulator X graphics engine and it was planned to be compatible with both Windows Vista and Windows XP. A post on 'The Little Wheel Goes in Back' blog, written by one of the developers, on August 23, 2007 suggested the working title was 'Train Simulator 2'.^[20]

On January 23, 2009, Microsoft announced that it was permanently closing Aces Game Studios, the internal development studio responsible for the Microsoft Flight Simulator series and the development of Microsoft Train Simulator 2. As a result, all future development on Train Simulator 2 (which was entering the final stages of development at the time of the closure) was immediately halted, marking the second time that the project was terminated. While Microsoft stated that 'they are committed to both the Flight Simulator and Train Simulator brands', it is unknown if the Train Simulator 2 project will ever be resurrected and completed sometime in the future. However, considering the fact that they discontinued support for Windows XP in 2014 and Windows Vista in 2017 (the two operating systems the second attempt was to be compatible with), as well as the Games for Windows initiative discontinued in 2013, it seems unlikely.

Many former employees of Aces Game Studios went on to join Cascade Game Foundry, a new company that was itself founded by two Aces alumni. Cascade Game Foundry focuses on developing entertainment simulations.^[21]

Open Rails[edit]

Open Rails is an open-sourcefreeware project launched, developed, maintained and nurtured by a team of volunteers and licensed under GPL.^[22]Its project summary states the following:^[23]

Open Rails is a train simulator that supports the world's largest range of digital content.
Accurate behaviour for steam, diesel and electric traction including trains with multiple locos.
Signals which correctly protect the train and permit complex timetabled operations.
Multi-user mode in which any timetabled train can be driven in person or by computer.

Key technical objectives are to be backward compatible with as well as extend all MSTS content.^[24] It adds new features such as improved multiplayer and mouse controls along with a newer engine that has better graphics and more realistic physics than MSTS.^[25] It is optimised to be able to take advantage of the features of newer CPUs, and can support more detailed models.

Open Rails 1.3.1 was released in 18 December 2018.^[26]

Creative Commons License Deed. Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-SA 3.0 US) This is a human-readable summary of (and not a substitute for) the license. Creative Commons License Deed. Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-SA 3.0 US) This is a human-readable summary of (and not a substitute for) the license. You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Creative Commons License Deed. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.5) This is a human-readable summary of (and not a substitute for) the license. You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Creative commons attribution sharealike license. This applies to every Creative Commons work. Whenever a work is copied or redistributed under a Creative Commons licence, the original creator (and any other nominated parties) must be credited and the source linked to. Lets others copy, distribute, display. Creative Commons Notice. Creative Commons is not a party to this License, and makes no warranty whatsoever in connection with the Work. Creative Commons will not be liable to You or any party on any legal theory for any damages whatsoever, including without limitation any general, special, incidental or consequential damages arising in connection to this license.

See also[edit]

• Train simulator – reference article to other train simulator products.
• Other games from the Simulator series:

References[edit]

1. ^'Train Simulator - PC'. Retrieved January 10, 2018 – via Amazon.
2. ^Marchelletta, Courtney. 'Fuill Product Review Microsoft Train Simulator'. About.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
3. ^'Train Simulator Add-on page'. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
4. ^Bradshaw, Lucy (January 31, 2002). 'Markle Forum on Children and Media'(PDF). New York University. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 19, 2004.
5. ^Edge Staff (August 25, 2006). 'The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century'. Edge. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
6. ^'ELSPA Sales Awards: Silver'. Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009.
7. ^Caoili, Eric (November 26, 2008). 'ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK'. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017.
8. ^'VUD-SALES-AWARDS Januar 2003'. Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland. January 2003. Archived from the original on April 22, 2003. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
9. ^Horn, Andre (January 14, 2004). 'VUD-Gold-Awards 2003'. GamePro Germany. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018.
10. ^Stuart, Keith (June 24, 2005). 'EA takes the train'. The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015.
11. ^Hilliard, Kyle (September 6, 2014). 'Gears Of War's Rod Fergusson On the Franchise's Past And His Optimism For The Future'. Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
12. ^'Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Announces Finalists for the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards' (Press release). Los Angeles: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. February 5, 2002. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002.
13. ^'Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Announces Recipients of Fifth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards' (Press release). Las Vegas: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. March 1, 2002. Archived from the original on March 6, 2002.
14. ^http://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?292660-MSTS-Add-On-Web-Sites Retrieved 27. March 2017
15. ^'MSTS Bin - MS train simulator upgrade'. mstsbin.uktrainsim.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
16. ^'Microsoft Train Simulator Review for PC'. GameFAQs. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
17. ^'Train Simulator 2 Impressions – PC News at GameSpot'. uk.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
18. ^'Microsoft takes over Train Sim 2 – PC News at GameSpot'. uk.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
19. ^'Train Simulator 2 canceled – PC News at GameSpot'. uk.gamespot.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
20. ^'The Little Wheel Goes in Back : Guter Tag von Leipzig!'. blogs.msdn.com. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
21. ^'The Simulation Game – games TM'. www.gamestm.co.uk. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
22. ^'Discover - Open Rails'. Open Rails. Open Rails. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
23. ^'The Open Rails Open Source Project'. Black Duck : Open HUB. Open Rails. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
24. ^'Discover - Our Mission'. Open Rails. Open Rails. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
25. ^'Learn - FAQ'. Open Rails. Open Rails. Retrieved October 13, 2016. Why does my train operate differently in Open Rails?
26. ^'Milestones: Open Rails'. Launchpad. Open Rails. Retrieved March 27, 2017.

External links[edit]

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 10, 2004)
• Microsoft Train Simulator at Curlie

Microsoft Train Simulator is intended to provide the same kind of engrossing and authentic experience for railroad aficionados that the successful line of Microsoft Flight Simulators has created for aviation enthusiasts. Gamers can choose to take the role of engineer on one of several finely detailed recreations of actual trains from the past and present. Speed steadily ahead, working to complete challenging scenario objectives or simply appreciating the sense of control over hundreds of tons of steel moving at speeds of 60 miles per hour.

There's also the option to take the more casual role of a sightseeing passenger, enjoying the faithfully recreated scenery along one of six internationally famous routes like the modern U.S. Northeast Corridor, the busy urban Odakyu Electric Railway, or the intriguing Orient Express of the 1930s. In addition to the realistic scenery, the game also features authentic engine and railway sounds to provide a more complete sensory experience.

The Microsoft Train Simulator is designed to present a relatively hard-core simulation of the true function, feel, and flavor of trains and railroads throughout history. Like the successful Microsoft Flight Simulator games, Microsoft Train Simulator was designed with an open-ended structure to allow enthusiasts and other game development companies to create new trains, landscapes, and scenarios that can be easily incorporated into the game.

Trains are perhaps not the most obvious vehicle to simulate, locked as they are to two strips of metal which prevent them from doing anything other than going forwards or backwards. But that hasn't stopped Microsoft and British developer Kuju from attempting the impossible. And they have almost succeeded.

Scenic Railways Of The World

Microsoft Train Simulator Free Download In Mobile

The imaginatively titled Microsoft Train Simulator recreates six different railway routes spread across America, Japan and Europe, with around 800km of track to explore. Settings vary from the commuter belt between Washington DC and Philadelphia to the picturesque Austrian Alps, and the addition of both seasonal and weather effects provides even more variety for both the game's graphics and the handling of your train.

Each of the tracks has been lovingly recreated and, apart from the dull Tokyo to Hakone route with its narrow strip of tall featureless buildings on either side of the track, the locations are generally very good. Highlights include driving over the Marias Pass in Montana during a winter snow storm and crossing the Japanese island of Kyushu with its steep gradients, spectacular scenery and switchbacks. Simply driving a train up and down a length of track is perhaps not the most exciting way to spend your evening though, and although it is possible to perform some impressive gravity-defying high speed derailments, this isn't likely to keep you entertained for long. And if it does, please seek immediate professional help.

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Thankfully then Kuju have included several 'activities' for you to carry out on each route. These range from a simple summer commuter run through Tokyo to guiding a mile-long goods train over a steep mountain pass, or helping to solve the 'Murder On The Orient Express' by following a detective's requests to drop off various carriages along the route.

The activities are rather hit and miss though, and Kuju seem to have gone out of their way to make your life a misery at times. For example, which bright spark came up with the idea of putting a temporary speed limit in the middle of the game's longest tunnel in one activity? Spending over a minute driving through a dark winding tunnel at a snail's pace is not fun, however you look at it. What's next, Microsoft Subway Simulator? All the excitement of The Tube on your PC, accurately recreating the entire London Underground, New York Subway and Paris Metro in sixteen million shades of black..

You also have to wonder why Kuju decided to make activities end after your passengers have disembarked at the last station on your route. There's no way to skip this, and given that pedestrians aren't rendered in the game you can't even watch them getting on and off. Sitting in a station for up to two minutes waiting for invisible passengers to board your train is frustrating to say the least, especially when you know that you have effectively finished the mission already.

Everything Is Under Control

But it's not all bad news. Spending an hour driving a dingy electric shuttle train through Tokyo stopping at stations every five hundred meters is not likely to prove particularly entertaining for any but the most hardcore of train fanatics, but some of the activities are genuinely enjoyable. The game has a strange charm about it, and driving a tourist train through the valleys of Kyushu, for example, can be both relaxing and fun, even if the lengthy stops for your non-existent passengers to get out and admire the view are somewhat less amusing.

Microsoft Train Simulator Exe

The trains themselves are usually very easy to control, with just three sets of keys that you need to know - throttle, brakes and reverser, which (as the name suggests) controls whether you move forwards or backwards. Controlling a steam engine is somewhat more complicated as you have to worry about pressure and water supply, although you can at least let the computer shovel coal into the firebox for you if you're not a total masochist. There are tutorials for each class of locomotive (steam, diesel and electric), but as each of them starts with the same introduction to the interface and there is no way to skip parts of the lesson you already know about, they can be rather repetitive.

Microsoft Train Simulator Free Download For Pc

There are also a number of driver aids to help you out, including a stats read-out for when you are driving from one of the exterior cameras and can't see your dashboard, and a 'next station display' which tells you how far you are from your next stop, when you are due to get there, and what time it is now. The most important aid though is the 'track monitor', a one dimensional map which shows the track as a straight line, with upcoming signals and speed limits marked on it for you.

Sound And Vision

You will probably spend most of your time driving the train from inside the cab, but there is a chase cam which can be rotated, zoomed and moved up and down the length of your train to give you a better view of your surroundings, while the vertical 'yard view' can be useful when shunting carriages through sidings, allowing you to scroll around to see where the points are and how to get your train from one track to another.

Microsoft Train Simulator Free Addons

There is also an artistic but essentially useless trackside view, which shows you the train speeding past as seen from a series of fixed cameras dotted along the length of the track. Sure to prove popular with trainspotters and journalists looking for a pretty screenshot, it shows off the detailed train models and often beautiful scenery to maximum effect, although occasionally you will end up staring at an extreme close-up of the back of a tree sprite. In passenger trains you can even see the action (such as it is) from inside one of the carriages, but these are not very pretty to look at and have a very limited field of view.

Sadly the audio hasn't received the same attention to detail, and the steam locomotives in particular sounded decidely wimpy to me. There are no real ambient sounds apart from the tolling of bells at level crossings and car horns from nearby traffic, and the sound in general seems primitive and lacking in punch and imagination. The low system requirements have also lead to a few strange compromises in the graphics department, like the way it seems to stop snowing outside whenever you go into a tunnel. Most worrying though are the overhead wires, which often stretch for miles with no visible means of support, just hanging in mid-air above the track.

Conclusion

Train Simulator is something of a mixed bag. There are some nice stretches of track to travel on and plenty of things to do along the way, but several of the activities are downright dull, while others are marred by questionable design decisions such as lengthy stops and the excessive use of temporary speed limits in the most boring parts of a track. This was a brave first attempt by Kuju and Microsoft which will no doubt appeal to trainspotters and railway enthusiasts, but for your average gamer there's not really enough here to make it an essential download. Cute, but unrewarding in the long run.

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People who downloaded Microsoft Train Simulator have also downloaded:
Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight, Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004, Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater, Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series, Microsoft Space Simulator, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000: Professional Edition, Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe